Unlikely Heroes
by rogue-scholar07
Summary: Set in the same universe as 'After the Fallout'. When the magical dimension starts falling into chaos, it's up to an unusual group of students to set things right...and hopefully keep their loved ones from getting arrested in the process.


**In light of all the terrible next-gen stories floating around this site and the fact that Chibi and I are working on merging our shared stories into one big giant one (which hopefully won't take too long), I decided to write my own next generation AU. This is set in the same universe as 'After the Fallout', 'Unnatural Attractions', and 'We Belong', so I would prefer that you read those before starting this one. There may be a fourth prequel oneshot up soon…or not. I haven't decided yet. **

**In case you weren't aware of it, I don't own the Winx Club franchise nor do I make any profit from publishing this story. **

**Unlikely Heroes**

**Chapter 1: Same Old Same Old **

She scanned the grounds of Alfea, green eyes searching or the people she left behind at the end of last semester. It was rather surreal to think that this would be her last year at college, last year to spend with her dorm-mates and friends. Over the last four years, Alfea became her second home and Semira of Cosmosia wanted to soak up every last second of being in Magix this year.

"Mira!" A female voice called out, causing the senior fairy to look around for the source. "Mira, over here!" She looked up to see a girl with tawny hair and golden eyes trotting toward her.

A smile broke open on her face. Leona, Fairy of Big Cats, was one of the best dorm-mates a fairy could ask for. "Hey, Leo! How was your summer?" Semira asked as the other girl settled in beside her.

"It was fun. Dad took us out to one of the resorts on Andros." Despite what many people thought, Leo loved swimming, especially in cool coastal waters on a hot summer day. "We even caught a glimpse of the royal family while we were there! Did you know their daughter's a sophomore at Cloud Tower? But we were all the way on the other side of the beachfront from them and couldn't say hello or ask her if she knew anyone there we know." She switched from pouty to perky so fast it almost gave Mira whiplash. "How'd your summer go? Did the lady with the vulture hat come back for another reading?"

"Boring, though Mom did start me on the advanced Divination material this year. Even got to do some Tarot readings for some of her customers. And no, the creepy vulture hat lady hasn't been back in the shop." Mira responded. She wouldn't ever be as talented at fortune-telling as her mother, but she was leagues beyond what little was taught about that branch of magic at Alfea. "Didn't your mother go to school with Queen Aisha?"

"Yep. Same year, in fact." The smaller girl nodded, pigtails bobbing in time with the motion of her head. "Same goes for Reva's mum, though I don't think they interacted much. We can look up a yearbook in the library later, if you really want to see it."

"Nah. I'm not that curious." She shrugged and simultaneously cursed whoever saw fit to give them rooms on the third floor once she saw the elevator. An overly-ambitious freshman prankster wrecked it at the tail end of last semester. The girl had been expelled, but the elevator remained in disrepair with bright yellow caution tape and an airtight containment charm around it. "Have you seen the others yet?"

"I think I saw Reva pass through check-in when I arrived, but since the girl's back was turned it could have been another redhead. We got a freaking bumper crop of them last year." Leo commented. "Haven't seen any sign of Bee yet, but she could have gotten here super early this year. Have you heard from the guys or Adia?"

"Luc had just made it through dorm check-in when I got here. Coda and Zee were with him, but no sign of Egon yet." The blonde remarked as the pair trudged up the stairs. Her 'cousin' Lucien was a lavender-haired senior at Red Fountain with a specialty in water and ice based magic. Xenon—Zee for short—was the brunet half-elf son of Professors Palladium and Avalon and spent two years at Oskuria University before transferring to Red Fountain. Prince Egon of Domino (a proud young man with auburn hair and green eyes) and Coda of Melody (snarky and highly intelligent raven-haired boy) rounded off the squad. "Haven't heard from Adia, but since she lives here in Magix, I don't think she was in any big rush to get to Cloud Tower on time this morning."

"Fair point." Leo shrugged. "It also gives her plenty of time to think up ways of repaying that psyche ward escapee she calls a roommate for putting slugs in her underwear drawer on check-out day."

"Yeah, I almost forgot about that." Semira frowned. Adia was a year behind them in her scholastic career but the witch managed to somehow work her way into their merry band of misfit fairies and specialists. As a result, Adia's roommate sought to 'punish' her for associating with 'the enemy', and the green-haired witch generally spent more time in the empty single-occupant room in their dorm than she did in her own dorm room. "Remind me to ask her if she needs help plotting revenge once we finish unpacking."

"Fine, but leave me out of the plotting." The brunette shuddered. "You two are scary once you get going, and Bee's not much better."

"Comes from having a witch as a parent." Semira smirked proudly. She might wear a sparkly outfit and fly on sheer wings, but she felt just as comfortable inside Cloud Tower as she did at Alfea or Red Fountain.

"Speaking of your mom, did she and that dude you really like move past the awkward 'best friend' stage yet?"

"Who, Timmy?" Mira blinked. Leo nodded eagerly for her to continue, so she did. "They've apparently been dating since a couple weeks after spring break and just didn't think to mention it to me. But I can't complain much, I guess. It's about time someone showed some interest in her for her and not her psychic readings. And Timmy's really cool in a geeky sort of way."

"Good. I'm glad they finally got their act together. Watching them avoid the subject was getting annoying." The feline fairy acknowledged as they finally reached their floor. Their dorm, second door on the left, already showed signs of someone moving around in it. The pair eagerly guided their trunks through the door and met one of their two remaining roommates in the living room area.

If one looked up the phrase 'fairy princess' in a dictionary, then Bianca's picture would sit right next to the definition. Curly metallic blonde hair fell to the small of her back with a few strands spilling over her shoulders. A red tank top covered her torso, complementing her white pencil skirt and silver flat shoes. Excited amber eyes stared back at the two approaching fairies, though her expression remained carefully neutral. "What took you two so long?"

"Sorry, we mere peasants don't get the VIP treatment during check-in." Semira drawled as she sent the suitcase into the bedroom she shared with the other blonde. "Though I don't know how in Shadowhaunt I got here ahead of Reva. We live on the same damn planet, for Dragon's sake!"

"Guess she got delayed once she made it to Magix City." Leo shrugged, moving toward her room. "At any rate, we'd better unpack so the dorm doesn't look like a clothing bomb went off in here when Adia shows up tonight."

"Don't you mean _if_ Adia shows up?" Bianca raised a perfectly sculpted blonde eyebrow. "She could decide to stay in her own dorm tonight."

"After the crazy bug lady put slugs in her underwear drawer at the end of last term?" Semira folded her arms across her chest. "No. I would bet money on her sleeping in her bed here and commuting to class this semester."

"Who's commuting where?" A confused voice sounded from the hallway door, causing the trio to turn and face the interloper. She was a small redhead with brown almond-shaped eyes and pale skin.

"We thought maybe you were, since you weren't here when I showed up." Mira teased. "What took you so long to get here, anyway?"

"My mother, go figure." The girl rolled her eyes. "But seriously, when did Alfea allow commuter students?"

"They didn't. Adia will be commuting from here to Cloud Tower, according to Mira." Leo shook her head. "Come on, Reva, get with the program."

"Kinda hard to do when I don't know what's on the darn thing." The redhead pointed out. "Do we know if Adia got back at the nasty slug chick yet?"

"Why did the bint even think that would bother her in the first place?" Bianca scoffed. "Adia's the witch of Fear. A few garden slugs aren't more than a minor annoyance to her."

"As I said on the walk here, psychiatric ward escapee." Leona rolled her eyes. "But seriously, let's at least confine the mess to our own rooms this year, kay? I don't want her to think we're slobs."

"She's known us for three years; I think it's a moot point by now." Reva said. "But I would like to unpack before we go off for our annual invasion of Red Fountain, so why don't we get started on that?"

"Good point; let's get going." Mira nodded.

Adia wasn't sure how in Shadowhaunt she managed to make friends with a group of fairies one grade above her, but she knew it was all Xenon's fault. The damn half-elf could be downright devious when he wanted to be, and setting her up with her group of best friends (minus Zee, naturally) showcased that particular trait rather well.

Not that she necessarily minded the other girls. Bee and Mira possessed as much sass and snark as the best witches, Leo livened up parties, and Reva made a good research buddy. But being friends with them openly meant that the entirety of Cloud Tower knew she ran with a group of fairies. This might not have caused a problem if her assigned roommate hadn't thought them inferior and Adia useless as a witch for having a fairy for a parent. If Mum had heard about that, she'd have invaded the school and hexed Telsea's body hair off, but since Adia didn't want to cause any more social awkwardness for herself than she already did, she kept her mouth shut about the teasing and pranking while at home. Even with the stress of dealing with a mildly psychotic roommate, she was at the top of her class and intended to stay there—something that wouldn't happen if the rest of the school decided to turn against her.

One of the advantages of living in Magix itself was the ability to arrive at dorm check-in whenever the hell you felt like it, and by the time she made it through the front gates, Telsea had already vacated their shared room to go hang with her 'crew' as she called them. Ha! Most pathetic excuse for a coven she'd ever seen! At least she didn't have to deal with them. If she actually were required to sleep in her dorm room every night, she might wind up committing homicide before the end of the fall term. Not that she found the pink castle across the woods from them aesthetically pleasing, but at least she didn't have to worry about people doing things to her stuff while she slept. Sometimes her warding and shield charms just weren't enough to keep Telsea out. She doubled up on them anyway after she unpacked half her belongings. The other half would reside in her room (her very own room!) in the girls' dorms at Alfea.

She suspected that the only reason Headmistress Griffin allowed her to do this under the other students' noses was because there wasn't really anywhere else to put her. Once covens formed and solidified in second year, the girls comprising those covens were normally housed together. Unless, of course, you didn't find a coven. Then you were shoehorned into the same room as an existing group. The third and fourth year groups were completely set, but due to the large number of students in those years, all the upper year dorms were filled to capacity. The other covens were four or five member groups and thus had no extra beds to spare, and since she didn't feel like mingling with sophomores for the rest of the term unless something really terrible happened, Adia resolved to tough it out with Telsea, Phoebe, and Janice until graduation.

Shrinking her remaining belongings and stuffing them into her purse, Adia left Cloud Tower and headed toward Red Fountain to meet the others.

Over at Red Fountain, a squad of Specialists unpacked their things. They were an odd squad, given that one of them transferred from Oskuria Wizarding University and another was supposed to be a year below his teammates. Not that any of the four actually thought much about it; Xenon Avalon of Magix held his own as a fighter and Coda of Melody ranked high enough on the genius scale to skip a grade and join the rest of his squad in most of their classes. Egon of Domino thought the two were awesome to have on the team and a great tactical advantage, while Lucien of Earth felt relieved to have another magic user on the squad.

"Aw, look, the little prince returned for another year!" Lucien smirked as Egon began the process of hanging up his clothes. "Get to run off any more princesses lately?"

A chuckle escaped the auburn-haired boy's mouth. "No, I think my parents have finally given up on finding a bride for me on their own. I don't see why they feel she has to be a princess."

"She doesn't." Coda snorted as he put away the last of his socks. "While some realms do have a clause regulating the social status of the royal heirs' spouses, Domino isn't one of them."

"Oh, so they're just being unnecessarily picky? Lovely." Egon rolled his eyes.

"You could always ask one of our dear girls out just to spite them." Lucien pointed out. "A couple of them would jump at the chance to help you piss off your parents."

"Ask Reva and they'll never find your body." Xenon glared at the young prince of Domino.

"Okay, first off Reva is yours and you two are too cute together for me to break you up. Second and most importantly, she'd never agree to it anyway." Egon said. "Although Bianca…"

"Will hex your testicles off." Coda said. "Besides, I thought you didn't want a princess?"

"Point. She is the sole heir to the throne of Isis." Lucien added. "Mira or Adia might go along with this stupid plan if you ask very nicely and promise not to grope them on your 'date'. They love pranks."

"I'll ask them over lunch then." The prince smirked. "Adia would be the ideal date simply because she's a witch and Dad has a legit phobia of them, but Semira would be good too."

"I can see it now, 'Prince of Domino seen out with King Sky of Eraklyon's bastard daughter'." Coda draped one arm over his roommate's shoulders while pulling the other through the air as if conjuring a sign. "I think it's safe to say both of your dads will have kittens after that."

"Given that he won't even let me spend a weekend with him over the summer break, I think he deserves it." Everyone but Xenon—who had been facing her at the time—jumped at the sudden appearance of Semira's voice. She casually leaned against the doorframe, a bored expression on her face.

"Mira. You got here early." Lucien winced. She wasn't supposed to hear about that. "Egon hasn't finished unpacking yet."

"We're not early; he's unfashionably late." Bianca frowned as she sauntered into the room. "Leave your stuff where it is; we're going to lunch."

"Yes, drill sergeant, ma'am!" Coda offered a mock solute, earning a heated glare from the blonde princess.

"Behave, you two. I don't need your banter getting us kicked out of my favorite diner." Leo mock scolded the two. "I swear you two act like a married couple!"

"And they're not even dating." Lucien added, only to be smacked on the back of the head by Coda.

"Not funny, dude."

"Can we pause the bickering long enough to grab a burger somewhere?" Adia asked from the doorway. "If we don't leave now, we'll be stuck waiting half an hour for a table."

"That would suck." Egon stated as he stuffed his suitcase into the floor of the boys' shared closet. "Come on, I'll tell you about our next great prank idea over lunch."

"Ooh, a prank." Semira smirked as the group walked out of the door. "Count me in."

"You don't even know who they're pranking yet!" Leo groaned.

"From the sound of it, the man who sired me is somehow involved, so I'm totally cool with it." The green-eyed blonde smiled back at her friend. "Now, on to Magix City!"


End file.
